2010 AD100: Geoffrey Bradfield

A favorite quotation of Geoffrey Bradfield’s comes from the late English aesthete the Honorable Stephen Tennant: “The exact limitations of one’s taste should be an intense pleasure.” It’s a philosophy that Bradfield holds dear. South African born and New York seasoned, Bradfield designs urbane interiors—opulent, daring, contemporary, with an emphasis on the “orchestration of surprise, the unusual, the quirky” (witness his Millennium Modern line of furniture, which reenvisions traditional forms in Lucite). Art Déco elements and African and Asian objects all find their way into his energetic rooms. “There’s a common assumption that interior design is an exact science, which it is not,” Bradfield remarks. “This can so often stifle a designer’s creativity. There’s a wealth of design choice out there.”

Presently at work on a range of interiors around the world, including a full-floor apartment in New York’s Sherry-Netherland hotel, a lakefront house in Mumbai, India, and a cliffside villa—complete with a “Moroccan room”— on St. Martin, Bradfield delights in the unmatched opportunities of the 21st century. “We are witness to an astonishing acceptance of contemporary design,” he says. “And it seems as if every day new technological possibilities are added to the designer’s repertoire.” If given a choice of living during any other era, he would respectfully decline. “I have always felt that I was born at exactly the right time for my psyche.”

FOLLOW US

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (effective 1/2/2014) and Privacy Policy (effective 1/2/2014). Architectural Digest may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Your California Privacy Rights (effective 1/2/2014). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of Condé Nast.